GUIDES ON THE AIR (GOTA)
Girl Guides on the Air is a special project of CLARA as well as for 'hams' who are interested or involved with the Guide and Scout movement. The idea behind it is to show the guides and their leaders the purpose of amateur radio and the usefulness it can play in many countries around the world. See http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/hfarchibald/ for more information on GOTA.
GOTA began in 1985 to celebrate 75 years of Guiding in Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia. GOTA has grown each year with more countries taking part, and most Canadian Call Areas now have an operator sponsoring the GGC suffix e.g. VE4GGC, VE7GGC. There are many Amateur Radio operators, winter camps, clubs, schools, fire halls, Red Cross, churches and Military basis involved with GOTA.
SPRARC will host a GOTA event on Saturday, February 22nd at the club station between 1:00 and 5:30 for 3 Guiding groups. We anticipate about 30 participants in all. We will have 1 ½ hours with each group. We will need operators to help out. We hope to have some girls on air while others learn more about armature radio in our club meeting room. If you’d like to participate and can’t make it to the club station perhaps you can help by standing by to chat with some girls from your home station. Especially if the bands do not cooperate.
Suggested frequencies for GOTA
80 m - 3.733 or 3.933
40 m - 7.088 or 7.188
20 m - 14.133 or 14.188 or 14.288
15 m - 21.288
10 m - 28.488
2 m is OK to use
We, (VE3SMU and VE3IE) have been participating with the Girl Guides for many years. We have in the past set up a station at the Girl Guide Headquarters and invited girls into our home shack. The girls have received QSL cards and earned crests. We've even been in the paper and in QST. We will have girls to our home shack on Saturday, February 16 from 2:00 to 3:30 2008 to participate in GOTA this year.
We hope to have girls on the radio, on the computer and trying their hand at some code. We have a small place so the more we can spread out the girls doing different activities the better. If you'd be interested in participating or simply being available to chat with girls on the radio, let us know.
Barb Garber VE3SMU Guide Guider/Trainer Community of Guiding #1 Ontario GOTA
OF INTEREST
FIELD DAY 2007
Ham radio operator David Pemberton takes part in Field Day 2007 onSaturday.
Ham operators finally say Aloha
BY JESSEY BIRD STAR STAFF REPORTER
After years of trying, local amateur radio operators finally made contact with Hawaii at about 5:30 a.m. Sunday.
The Sun Parlour Retirees Amateur Radio Club gathered on the grounds of the Tecumseh Fire Station Two to gain points in the North American Field Day 2007 radio contest.
"Once they get in there they don't stop," said Chris Pitre, president of the club. About 30 people participated in the annual field day in which the goal was to make as many contacts Canada and the U.S. in a 24hour period. Sunday was the first time they reached Hawaii.
The event simulated an emergency situation, so the participants worked through the night, from seven stations powered by three gasoline generators.
"This is something we can do that most people can't," said 77year-old Harold Dresser, huddled over his Morse code station. "The Internet could all go down and we would still have this," he added with a laugh.
Last year the club placed first in Ontario with more than 1,800 contacts. The results of this year's contest are not expected until November
Department of Industry
Radiocommunication Act
Notice No. DGRB-003-05 — Revisions to Amateur Radio Operator Requirements Relating to Morse code
Notice is hereby given that Industry Canada is revising the amateur radio operator requirements relating to Morse code. Morse code will no longer be the sole additional requirement by which Canadian radio amateurs will gain access to the HF bands, but it will remain as one valid criterion. more...
RAC MF/HF Band Plan
The RAC MF/HF Band Plan covers the bands 160m to 10m. This update has been necessitated by the recent changes in band allocations by the United States Federal Communications Commission, changes in IARU Region 1 allocations and the revision of the IARU Region 2 Band Plan...more (PDF file)
